Advertisement
Advertisement
surprise
[ser-prahyz, suh-]
verb (used with object)
to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness.
Her beauty surprised me.
to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly.
We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar.
to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.).
to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning.
to surprise the facts from the witness.
to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended.
to surprise a witness into telling the truth.
noun
an act or instance of surprising or being surprised.
something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement.
His announcement was a surprise to all.
an assault, as on an army or a fort, made without warning.
a coming upon unexpectedly; detecting in the act; taking unawares.
surprise
/ səˈpraɪz, səˈpraɪzɪdlɪ /
verb
to cause to feel amazement or wonder
to encounter or discover unexpectedly or suddenly
to capture or assault suddenly and without warning
to present with something unexpected, such as a gift
(foll by into) to provoke (someone) to unintended action by a trick, etc
to surprise a person into an indiscretion
(often foll by from) to elicit by unexpected behaviour or by a trick
to surprise information from a prisoner
noun
the act or an instance of surprising; the act of taking unawares
a sudden or unexpected event, gift, etc
the feeling or condition of being surprised; astonishment
(modifier) causing, characterized by, or relying upon surprise
a surprise move
to come upon suddenly and without warning
to capture unexpectedly or catch unprepared
to astonish; amaze
Other Word Forms
- surprisedly adverb
- surpriser noun
- supersurprise noun
- unsurprised adjective
- ܰˈ adjective
- ܰˈ noun
- ܰˈ noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of surprise1
Word History and Origins
Origin of surprise1
Idioms and Phrases
take by surprise,
to come upon unawares.
to astonish; amaze.
The amount of the donation took us completely by surprise.
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
It is perhaps not so surprising that a video game created by two veteran voice actors opens with the main character at risk of losing their job to AI.
Perhaps the highlight of the tournament - particularly for those who queued for over an hour in the London sun - was Boulter and Raducanu's surprise doubles pairing.
A surprise Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2022, Maria has a game made for a grass court - but even she could not have thought her week would pan out like this.
It hardly came as a surprise to those who had been following him when Spanish newspaper AS said during the 2023 U-17 World Cup that "Brazil have a new genius".
"If you've got money and you don't feel that the police are effective, then it's no surprise if you decide to use your resources to keep your family safe," he says.
Advertisement
Related Words
When To Use
The word surprise is hard to spell for two reasons. First, many people forget to include the first r because it is not emphasized. Second, surprise sounds like it might end in -ize, but it actually ends in -ise. How to spell surprise: Surprise! There’s an r in the first syllable (even if it often doesn’t sound like there is). You can remember this by picturing the p being surprised that it’s surrounded by an r on both sides. Next, remember that surprise ends in rise, not prize.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse